Riding the bus and train shirtless.
August 31, 2010 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Hello,
I have the following problem.
In June, I went swimming in a lake. After swimming, my t-shirt was stolen. Only the towel, underwear, pants, and wet swim trunks were left. I then took public transportation home shirtless. I had no other choice. A few days ago, I received a letter from the police. It informed me that the prosecutor's office is investigating me for public indecency. As a male with long hair, I didn't think anything of it. There is nothing in the terms and conditions of the buses and trains regarding this.
Now my questions are:
What is the legal situation?
Is it allowed to ride buses and trains shirtless in the summer?
Does riding buses and trains shirtless in the summer cause public indecency?
What does the law say about this?
I request a detailed response.
Sincerely,
a user of this platform
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry.
First, I would like to inform you that you do not need to incriminate yourself and therefore do not need to provide any information at all. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, silence cannot be held against you or interpreted as an admission of guilt.
If you receive a summons from the police, you also do not have to comply with it. You would only be required to comply with a summons if it comes from the public prosecutor's office or a judge. However, given the current stage of the proceedings, this is highly unlikely.
Now, let's address the core of your question. The offense you are accused of is usually punishable with a fine (see § 183a of the Criminal Code).
§ 183a of the Criminal Code:
Causing Public Nuisance
Anyone who publicly engages in sexual acts and thereby intentionally or knowingly causes a nuisance will be punished with imprisonment for up to one year or a fine, unless the act is already penalized under § 183.
As you can see, the law does not specify when causing a public nuisance occurs. It only states that a public sexual act is necessary. Exhibitionism, which does not seem to apply in your case, especially not due to the hot temperatures, is generally considered as such under case law.
There is no precedent in your case, specifically regarding riding a bus as a passenger shirtless. However, there is case law regarding driving a car shirtless. For men, driving shirtless is generally not allowed, except in cases where temperatures necessitate it.
In that case, the man should at least be wearing underwear.
I have attached an interesting link for further reading:
http://www.clatsch.de/2009/08/24/nackt-autofahren-bei-heisem-wetter/
If the proceedings are not unexpectedly terminated quickly, you should consider hiring a local colleague experienced in criminal law to represent your legal interests. They can request access to the files and work with you on a defense strategy.
The defense will likely focus on drawing parallels to driving case law and emphasizing the hot temperatures. In my experience, this argumentation has above-average chances of success.
In conclusion, I would like to point out the following:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive review of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal evaluation.
I hope my explanations have been helpful to you. Feel free to contact me via email or the follow-up option if you have any further questions.
Wishing you a pleasant Tuesday afternoon!
Kind regards from the North Sea coast,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney
Stresemannstr. 46
27570 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Fax. 0471/140244
